and wellbeing.^21 They found that the higher the level of sensation-
seeking, the greater the life satisfaction and resilience, and the
lower the perceived stress.
How does sensation-seeking create resilience? High sensa-
tion-seekers see potential stressors as challenges to be overcome
rather than threats that might crush them. Rather than dodging or
running from a threat, they dive into it head on (analysis is paraly-
sis, after all). Because of this they are more likely to successfully
meet challenges. This not only helps them to resolve challenges,
but also boosts their belief in their ability to handle such challenges
in the future. It’s a buffer against the stress of life. It’s this mindset
that increases their hardiness and resilience in the long term.
Several studies have supported this idea, and researchers such as
McKay, Skues, and Williams have found (not surprisingly) that high
sensation-seekers have lower amounts of information overload, are
impacted less by daily stressors (such as losing your keys, things
breaking around the house or feeling like you have too many things
to do) and have lower discomfort for the stressors they do experi-
ence. What’s more, when they experience a significant setback
from a stressor, they bounce back more quickly. Why? High sensa-
tion-seekers tend to engage in more problem-focused approaches to
the stressor, meaning they target the cause of stress in a practical
way. High sensation-seekers have lower perceived stress, greater
positive emotions, and report greater life satisfaction.
Despite how much I crave predictability, life is often far
from predictable. And when unwanted negative surprises pop up,
sometimes I panic. Novelty for some can be a burden. High sensa-
tion-seekers, on the other hand, bask in the novelty for the positive
payoff it often involves. Sensation-seekers see novelty and surprise
as less teetering, less overwhelming, and easier to control. What’s
more, when they look back, they are happy with how they handled
these surprises as compared to low and average sensation-seekers
who are often not.
Hardiness may have been the factor that helped Marshall
Garber to keep going. Mike agrees, “I think what it gave him was the
mental ‘I can do it’ attitude. That allowed him to stand. He was
always able to stand out of his wheelchair, but it wasn’t until he had
that confidence and the drive that actually gave his body the power
to do it.”
Needless to say, everyone was thrilled with what happened.
But the incredible story doesn’t end there. Three months after the172 / Buzz!Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSF Library, on 11 Nov 2019 at 14:18:43, subject to the Cambridge